Hiroshima: 'A day of shame'

Letters to the editor for Aug. 6, 2013: Hiroshima anniversary; support for Marine; new S.D. library; Benghazi; South Bay freeway closure; fur vandals

Aug. 6 seen as ‘day of shame’

Aug. 6 marks the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

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At least 90,000 were killed there and another 60,000 died when Nagasaki was destroyed three days later. Almost all were civilians. This was the first and only use of atomic weapons in wartime. Our nation continues to claim the right of first use of atomic weapons. Today we cower in fear of terrorism as we pile up new mountains of armaments. As time and Vietnam have showed us, we will continue using our weapons out of fear and greed until we are stopped or go broke.

Aug. 6th is circled on my calendar every year as a day of shame.

Eric Parish

Vista

Support for Marine accused of murder

In all the books I have read about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our military is fighting wars that demand specific rules of engagement that put them in harm’s way. Since the same rules don’t apply to the enemy, they know how to have our troops investigated and convicted of war crimes not committed.

I support this young man and his family and pray for the complete dismissal of the case and have his honor restored. God bless you, sir!

Tere Renteria

Carlsbad

WWII pilots were not charged

As a WWII Navy vet, I have sympathy for Marine Sgt. Hutchins for being put in a position of killing a civilian by Cheney, who talked President Bush in getting into tribal problems in Iraq (and now Afghanistan). All this after Colin Powell’s advice to stay out of it, and, after Vietnam — putting civilians at risk.

No one charged WWII bomber pilots for civilian deaths in Germany.

Walter C. Tice

Pacific Beach

Patience wins out for library staff

Sunday’s paper regarding the new library (“A new chapter,” Opinion, Aug. 4) had the comment “It is the only school in the nation, that we know of, to coexist within a public library.”

Years ago I was an elected member of the Grosse Pointe (Michigan) Board of Education, representing five Grosse Pointe municipalities. In that capacity, we also sat as the Grosse Pointe Public Library Board of Directors. Thus it was natural for us to integrate our public library service directly into branches built into our middle schools in our two end cities.

It is great that San Diego now has its library. As a former national president of the American Library Trustee Association, I heard decade after decade at national conferences from S.D. staff members that “a new, much needed library is in the works.”

I kept thinking those staff members are patience personified.

John T. Short

Encinitas

Will new library become a shelter?

Thanks for the article on the new library. As I sat at the Padres game Sunday, the former head of a Fortune 500 company wondered about the “new domed building.” I explained.

When he asked if downtown residents would use it, I replied the old library was absolutely scary, with transients ensconced at almost every table and my wife being followed around. So, did the city just build the most expensive shelter in a major city, or, is there a plan?

Scott Brewster

Marina District

Where were Obama and Clinton during Benghazi?

Regarding, “What’s phony are the White House scandals,” (Letters, July 20), John H. Terrell of Fallbrook writes, “What happened in Benghazi was truly a tragedy, and President Obama has spoken to that.” All Obama does is speak to things to things with no substance or will to get to the truth.

Please Mr. Terrell answer me one question. On Sept. 11 during the Benghazi attacks, there is a nine-hour lapse of information on where Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton were. No one seems to know just what room he or they were in. Speculation has it that they were in the war room watching this go down in real time. If so, they would have had to of watched and witnessed Ambassador Stevens and our three brave former Navy Seals murdered by that so-called spontaneous mob. In my opinion that is a scandal.

Jim Quirk

Carlsbad

Wonders about Caltrans’ plan for closure

Looks like the engineers at Caltrans left their common sense somewhere back on their college campuses. In revealing their plans to shut down a portion of Interstate 805 on Aug. 18 for the demolition of the Palomar Street bridge, they’re going to end up creating more traffic problems than they need to. They don’t need to shut down the interstate from state Route 54 south to Palm Avenue.

By leaving the portion of southbound 805 open all the way to the L Street off-ramp, they will facilitate a lot of traffic that won’t be trying to make their way to those streets via the few north-south streets that will be jammed with traffic trying to get to the subdivisions east of the 805. The L Street exit is one mile from the Palomar Bridge, providing enough space for the demolition to take place and still allowing hundreds of vehicles to exit without jamming up Third Street, Fourth Street and Broadway in Chula Vista.

Similarly, by allowing northbound traffic to exit at Main Street, those vehicles heading east will be jumping up to Olympic without jamming up Hilltop Street. The one-mile separation from Main to Palomar again provides enough room to accomplish the demo and still facilitate traffic flow to the east area.

Robert Gillchrest

San Diego

Fur store vandals are thugs

The Graf family maintain that the anti-animal use people who go to extremes, such as attacking us, are thugs and criminals, working under the cover of darkness, and who have an opinion based on propaganda and lies (Joint terror task force probes fur shop vandalism,” July 23).

We know we probably won’t change the minds of people who are brainwashed by the rhetoric and false accusations toward the fur industry made up by the die-hard anti-animal use people. Not one of them knows first hand, anything about the industry and are led around and riled up to take violent action against law abiding businesses who use, not abuse, animals.

Furs by Graf and four generations of Grafs have made significant contributions to this city by employing staff over these 84 years in business, and by supporting many and varied charities that help people, as well as animals. We are proud of this legacy and will continue to contribute to San Diego specifically, and society in general, in a positive way.

Lawful protest is one thing, however, the attack on Furs by Graf and the Graf family members crosses the line.